Despite I know my hair fairly well as a guy from years of growing it, I'd like to ask, are there any tips to learn how to get wavy hair? I know that there are some tricks to get the wave shape going by twisting the hair in some manner and tying it. Perhaps braids I recall but there were some methods to get wavy hair as a guy.

I am not particularly interested in this but I think it is a good topic to cover given that there is not much literature (if at all) on how to get wavy hair for men. I have heard in the past of interest from guys wanting to 'wave' their hair and even long hair men. There is of course the option to perm the hair but I would be interested to know the less hardcore solutions that are temporary and that keep the hair healthy and undamaged. Also much of the interest I have heard to get wavy hair has been on temporary solutions and not permanent solutions like a perm would do.

I know there are some good hairstylists on board who probably know a couple of tricks. There are of course some great barbers and hairdressers in the forum too, don't get me wrong, but hairstylists seem to have a skill for this kind of stuff that borders hair obsession (and which is a money making business itself) By all means any barbers/hairdressers please chime in too if you know a trick or two to learn how to get wavy hair.

When you have the extra time to spend on doing your hair, adding waves or curls is a great way to change up your look. Thanks to the myriad of products and tools on the market now, it doesn't require spending all night in rollers or hours to get the look you want. And as a guy I really doubt any of you would like to be wearing rollers unless you are Bradley Cooper perming his hair curly for a movie role.

Here are some hints, tips and tricks to get various wavy and or curly styles without taking half a day to do so. Under each particular style, I'll also have a list of suggested products or tools that will help you out with that specific look.

Body Waves:

This is the most natural of the looks and makes the most of the existing texture of your hair. Additionally, this is a good style for someone who does not want a drastic change from their usual straight style.

This works especially well for men with course hair or even just the slightest wave. For those with very fine hair, this may not yield the desired texture for you, so you may want to read some of the other suggestions below.

Towel dry your hair after washing it. With a wide tooth comb, brush out your hair and part it the way you normally wear it. Take a hair dryer on its lowest setting and allow the air to run through your hair for just a few minutes until it is damp. The point of this is to make sure your hair isn't dripping wet, while not removing the moisture completely.

Following the above step, take two drops of Frizz-Ease hair serum (the original formula is fine). This will stop the frizz. Then spray Sedu Beach Beauty Sea Salt Spray throughout your hair - liberally. I used to like John Frieda's sea salt spray, but for whatever reason, the product is difficult to find (and I'm not sure why given it was pretty popular).

Section your hair off into thirds and create three messy buns. You can see the instructions on creating a bun on this how to tie a bun video or you can also read the man bun guide. Either way create the three buns, put your dryer on the lowest setting, attach the diffuser nozzle and dry the rest of your hair. Take down the buns and you should have natural looking body waves.

Product Recap: Frizz-Ease, Sedu Beach Beauty Sea Salt Spray, 3 hair elastics and a good hair dryer. Any decent hair dryer will do so read the hair dryer thread for some good suggestions. You probably have one already Long mane but just in case anyone else is interested on this trick to get wavy hair. Just read the box to make sure there is a diffuser attachment included - nowadays, most dryers come with one. If not then buy the diffuser as an accessory).

All products above can be bought from Amazon and at most beauty shops or department stores.

Wavy:

This is more of a dramatic departure from above. Note that this look will create waves - not curls. After washing your hair, spray CHI Keratin Mist in your hair and then dry your hair completely. I think this spray works well with the heat of your dryer and the three-prong waver iron, but also leaves it really slinky and manageable.

Divide your hair into sections and then use the three-prong waver iron on each section. The effect you'll get is similar to that of very large crimps (similar to a flapper style). Don't be alarmed. Just keep shaping your hair wavy with the waver iron.

When done, use TIGI Bed Head Manipulator Sculpting Putty. Just take random sections of your hair and use this to create a piecey look that holds throughout the day. It also helps to sort of lessen the severity of the waves you just created (you do not need to put this into every inch of your hair - just take pieces at random - otherwise you'll have a waxy, greasy mess). If you still want less defined waves, roll your hair into a couple of buns and leave it like that for about 10 minutes. The result is natural waves.

Product Recap: Three-prong waver iron (you can get some good ones for cheap, if moderators allow I can recommend links), CHI Keratin Mist, TIGI Bed Head Manipulator Sculpting Putty. All these products can be found on Amazon, beauty stores and hair salons.

Crimps:

If you want your waves to be more like crimps and certainly crimper than the above messy wave-do, then try this. The night before you want this look, completely dry your hair. Then braid it in about two-inch sections. You posted a good braid hairstyle guide some time ago which I recommend anyone to look at to have an idea what a braid is.

Anyway sleep with your hair in braids. The following morning, take out your braids and use the same TIGI Bed Head Manipulator Sculpting Putty to get a piecey look that holds (and also reduces the frizz). It is crucial that your hair is completely dry when you put the braids in. If it is even just a little damp, the waves won't stay. Also make sure to braid your hair tightly. The looser the braid, the less wave is created.

Product Recap: TIGI Bed Head Manipulator Sculpting Putty.

Wavy Curls:

This next look is more of a curl than it is a crimp wave. However, this should not be confused with goldilocks curls. This is more of a dressy, "done" look than the above looks mentioned above. It is good if you want to rock some cool surfer dude hairstyle or want to completely change your look.

Dry your hair straight as you use a leave-in conditioner to ensure manageability. It's a shame that Thermasilk conditioner is no longer on store shelves given the fact that it worked brilliantly with heat, was cheap and could be found at any Target, CVS or Wal-Mart. I did spot the Thermasilk selling in Amazon so if your lock, you can get the Thermasilk from Amazon.

For now, I've been using Redken's So Long Heat Treat Heat-Activated conditioner. I like it because it's a light, leave-in spray that doesn't leave annoying build-up. It's costlier, but it does work.

After your hair is completely dry, section off your hair into one-and-a-half to two-inch sections. Then, curl each section around a one-and-a-half-inch barrel ceramic curling iron. There is a very useful curling iron sizes guide that was posted recently and that I recommend everyone to read if interested in buying a curling iron.

After you've heated each section with curling iron and shaped the curls, spray Nexxus Maxximum Styling and Finishing Spray on the curl and pin it up with a bobby pin (bobby pins can be very useful even for men! ). Do this for each section. When the spray is dry and the curls are completely cool, undo the bobby pins and you will be left with loose curls that should last all day or night.

I know this is not the most manliest way to get wavy hair for man, but it really works and I can tell you all that from my hair salon experience, a lot of men are doing these type of tricks to get better hair. You aren't alone trust me!

I have some more tips which take into account the volume of long hair so its best hairstyling for wavy hair. Wavy hairstyles are fun for a casual cool look, and they are a lot easier to achieve for those men with straight hair than you would think. Here are some more different ways that create a variety of different wavy hairstyles.

Sea Salt Spray:

This is the easiest, most natural way to get wavy hair, and it'll give you the most natural-looking results (it's really easy!). Here's how to make the sea salt spray: simply mix one quarter of a cup of sea salt (which you should be able to find by the table salt and other spices at your local grocery store) with one cup of water in a large spray bottle and shake it up until the sea salt has dissolved. Spray the sea salt mixture all over slightly damp hair and give it a good scrunching all over with your fingers. Now just allow it to finish air drying.

I would also recommend following up with a good shine spray to give your hair a healthy shimmer like Smooth 'N Shine or TRESemme Smooth No Frizz Shine Spray. This will help tame your mane and keep it from looking a little too wild and wavy. You can also consider sea salt hair products which come ready for spraying. This forum thread covers some of the sea salt hair products for men. I suggest you try both the product and my way I explained just now.

Braiding:

This is the tried and true traditional way to get wavy hair, and it's also all-natural. It also ties in with what I explained in my previous post too.

Here's how to get natural waves in this traditional braiding way: all you have to do is braid your hair any way you like after you've taken a shower at night and have let your hair air dry for awhile. You can do one big braid for large waves, pigtails for medium waves, or smaller braids all over for a very wavy hairstyle. I would recommend not securing the ends of the braids with elastic bands, as I have noticed this can cause some ugly breaks of the wavy pattern at the ends of your hair. But if you have to use the elastic bands to keep your braids intact, you can always use a flat iron to iron out the any break in the wavy pattern when you undo the braids.

When you wake up in the morning and take the braids out, scrunch your newly-wavy hair around a bit and follow with a shine spray for a cool wavy hairstyle for men.

Cloth Rollers:

Ok so this method works very well but it's something used by women but hey you can also learn from us when it comes to hairstyling! Cloth rollers are a great way to achieve a fuller wavy look. Some women (but men can too) use Velcro or foam rollers at night to get big, bouncy curls, but cloth rollers are so much easier to sleep in and much easier on your hair. Scrunci makes soft cloth rollers for a very cheap price (they are the same company recommended in this forum for hair bands), and Goody also makes some good pillow soft rollers that come 10 to a package for a very modest price.

Here's how to use the cloth rollers: simply divide your hair (it needs to be just slightly damp) as you would when using regular curlers and roll each part up as you normally would, but bend and twist the wire ends to secure the rollers in place; no extra parts needed! Just sleep on them overnight, take them out in the morning, run your fingers through your hair, and follow with a light hold hairspray. These rollers will give you more of a curly-wavy look that's can really transform your look, and will help you achieve that full, bouncy, wavy hairstyle. It may sound girly but from experience I know that all long hair men who have tried this trick have been marvelled with the results!

I hope this guide on how to achieve natural wavy hairstyles has helped you find your perfect wavy look. You can try all three as well as the other methods in my previous post and stick with the one you like best, or alternate between them as you like. But the best thing about all of these achievable wavy hair styles is that they're all natural (so no curling irons or heat is needed) which will then go a long way in keeping your long mane in perfect condition.